Instead of exploring and teaching the essence of Pranayama breathing and Pranayama benefits, most yoga teachers today are busy with dividing and sub-dividing this wise and exceptionally powerful breathing practice into various forms. Yes, there are many possible exercises in Pranayama, but only one essential process: slowing down our automatic breathing and gradually extending the cycles of pranayama.

If you practice the same session (5 s for inhalation, 10 s breath holding, 10 s for exhalation, etc.) even for months or years, you will not get any significant health or pranayama benefits.

What is true progress in Pranayama breathing?

The Shiva Samhita (17-18 century)

(5) The Pranayama"22. Then let the wise practitioner close with his right thumb the
pingala (right nostril), inspire air through the ida (the left nostril); and
keep the air confined – suspend his breathing – as long as he can; and
afterwards let him breathe out slowly, and not forcibly, through the right
nostril.
23. Again, let him draw breath through the right nostril, and stop breathing
as long as his strength permits; then let him expel the air through the left
nostril, not forcibly, but slowly and gently."

"39. When the Yogi can, of his will, regulate the air and stop the
breath (whenever and how long) he likes, then certainly he gets success in
kumbhaka, and from the success in kumbhaka only, what things cannot the Yogi
commend here?"

"43. ... from the perfection of pranayama, follows decrease of sleep,
excrements and urine."

Increase of Duration
"53. Then gradually he should make himself able to practice for three gharis
(one hour and a half at a time, he should be able to restrain breath for
that period). Through this, the Yogi undoubtedly obtains all the longed for
powers."

"57. When he gets the power of holding breath (i.e., to be in a
trance) for three hours, then certainly the wonderful state of pratyahar is
reached without fail."

Traditional yoga, as well as yoga books are written 50-100 years ago, say that a yoga student will get pranayama benefits if he or she gradually increases the duration of phases.

How to Get Benefits of Pranayama

Therefore, the goal is to slow one's automatic or unconscious breathing pattern. The ideal breathing pattern at rest, as we considered before, is only 3 breaths/min. It corresponds to the very top level (6th zone of super-endurance) in the Buteyko Table of Health Zones. This is the goal of an aspiring hatha yoga student, if he or she wants to be a real yoga master. This zone corresponds to up to 7-8 minutes for the maximum breath holding time test (after a complete inhalation and for as long as possible).

Clinical
experience of about 200 Russian medical doctors shows that if our basal
breathing pattern remains unchanged after weeks or months of Pranayama practice,
then our diseases, symptoms, pains, sleep, anxieties, digestion, body weight,
and so on, will also be unchanged.

Why does the practice of Pranayama breathing sometimes not result in improvements in
health? Several possible reasons exist, for example, a person can spend many
hours every day practicing Pranayama, but if he or she sleeps on his back or
breathes through his mouth during sleep, their unconscious breathing pattern
will likely not change due to the
Sleep Heavy Breathing Effect that can cancel all the benefits of Pranayama breathing exercises.

Hence, in order to achieve Pranayama benefits, one needs to increase his or her morning body-oxygen levels. Correction of abnormal lifestyle factors and additional methods (e.g., physical exercise with nose breathing) are necessary for fast progress. These lifestyle changes and instructions in relation to sleep hygiene, cold shower rules, physical exercise benefits, nutritional deficiencies and so forth are discussed on this site.

Advocates of deep breathing confuse these two concepts and, in their
defense, they say, “Yogis, for thousands of years, have breathed deeply and we
see that they are super-humans”. Quite the contrary. Full breathing of
yogis is shallow breathing in our understanding. It is done, first, very
slowly, inhalations and exhalations as well; second, with maximum
breath holds after inhalations and exhalations.

And finally one should not confuse the following concepts: We are
speaking about breathing, which goes on day and night, about our basal
breathing, the foundation of life. Meanwhile, the system of yogis has
separate breathing exercises. Therefore, it is practically unimportant
for us how and what you do: feet upwards or downwards, through the
right or left nostril, or by right or left side. We are interested in
where you will arrive as a result of these exercises. If carbon dioxide
increases, and breathing decreases, with each day, then this will
ensure the transition of man into a super-endurance state.

Depending on the current CP for a person, with progress in breathing retraining, he or she would be able to have longer and longer cycles while practicing pranayama. The exact relationship (CP to pranayama cycles) would surely depend on the volume of the lungs and the "training effect" (an ability to have a larger difference between the maximum pause or maximum breath holding and the CP). If you want to know possible breathing cycles for pranayama with the ratio 1:4:2:2 (inhalation, breath hold, exhalation, breath hold), and how the body oxygen test (CP test) in seconds relates to these breathing cycles, these details are provided as your bonus content below here.

Warning.Breathing exercises can cause powerful cleansing reactions and can be dangerous for
pregnant women, people with organ transplants, GI problems, and panic attacks, as well as those who take medication
for diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism, and other conditions.
Consult your health care provider and follow special guidelines, which can be found
in the Module
Restrictions, limits, and temporary contraindications.